Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! It seems like this year has passed so quickly. This time last year, I was having a problem with a slipped disc which i thought was a pulled muscle in my back. After many trips to the dr. and 3 cortisoine shots, I finally got back to normal but found out I have
arthritus in my right hip which still acts up. Not as bad as the slipped disk though... Its better to see the positive side. lol

Christmas was nice though, my husband & I spent a nice quiet day at home. I got my husband a little remote car in which he had fun playing with our cat Katie with. I should have taken pictures. When Katie got tired of watching the car, she simply flipped it over like she would a bug and then watched its wheels spin uselessly. lol

I am very happy to announce that my younger sister Sheri has joined me in my blog Crochet Mania. Sheri is also hooked on crochet. She learned how to crochet about a year ago and is getting really good. Hopefully between the two of us, there will be more posts.

I hope you had a very nice Christmas and all your dreams for the new year come true.

Christmas Projects & Baby

Its hard to believe that a year has past since I started this blog. I have been terrible about blogging. Hum, maybe add that to my New Year's resolution list...lol I have been crocheting a lot but I can't share any pictures until after Christmas since what I am working on is presents for my family known as Project S. by my younger sister and myself. lol I once shared the link to this blog with my older brother and he bookmarked it, so just in case he looks, he won't find out what he is getting from this page. ;)

However, I will post a picture of my youngest cat, Baby. Ok, actually she doesn't have a name yet. We can't seem to agree on a name for her. However, Baby fits her. Ok maybe a baby tiger...lol She is a good cat though, she is very smart and likes to play tricks on the other cats oh and especially her mother, Cw who is not much bigger than her. Cw is a small cat and it looks like Baby is going to stay small too. Luckily the other cats look after them both.

No time

Once again life interfere with my crochet work and posting in the blog. Also I have become hooked on crazy quilts! I am planning to change my crochet blog to a general craft blog to cover all my interests. I haven't come up with a title yet. Any ideas, let me know. I am desperate for suggestions. lol

The crazy quilt block I am showing is a postcard for a swap I am in. I am also working on 6" blocks. Its very addicting and I keep looking for new color combinations and embellishments for the embroidery work.

Changing Colors

I haven't posted in awhile. Life has a way of getting hectic sometimes. My younger sister asked me how to change colors when you are crocheting. I took some pictures to explain how to change colors in the middle of a row. This techneque can also be used to change colors at the end of a row also.

The pictures show how to change colors when you are working with single crochet but it is done the same way with any stitch you are working on. The first picture shows working the first part of the single crochet with the old color. (insert hook into stitch, draw up a loop,) then attach new color to the yarn of the old color in the back of the work, then yarn over, then pull the new color through the two loops on the hook.

First Hibiscus 

Janie's Valentine Dress & Hat

BarbValDress_kjc
Originally uploaded by kacis_mail.

Today I made a valentine dress and hat for Janie (aka Barbie)Janie is my first Barbie doll as an adult. Lol I redid her make-up and cut her hair. Her hair needs more work though. I changed her eye color from blue to green. I may do more work on the dress later. This one was crocheted with the size 0 steel hook again with fingering weight yarn. The red is embroidry thread. I didn't have any red fingering weight yarn and this made a good subsitution. I'll have to find some red shoes for Janie. I was amazed to find I didn't have any that color. We all know that the Barbie dolls have every color of shoes imaginable. Lol

Angie_kjc

Angie_kjc
Originally uploaded by kacis_mail.

Angie's Crochet Dress

Now you can see why it takes me so long to get anything done. I get distracted. Lol Today I made a dress for Angie who is one of Tutti's friends. Poor Angie has a major problem with her hair. She was once loved too much by some little girl (or maybe her brother?) Angie is missing quite a bit of hair. However, she is still adorable. Someone had put a pink bow in what's left of her hair and thanks to Mattel dying her scalp brown, the baldness isen't too noticeable until you get up close.

Back to the dress--I used a steel crochet hook size 1 with fingering weight yarn. I didn't use a pattern. Its very easy to make simple doll clothes once you know the basics. On this one I made a starting chain to go around the neckline then on the first row I made 2 sc in each chain across. This will make the piece curve with the neckline. Then for the 2nd row, I dc across the row, increasing where needed to fit. The 3rd row was the arm hole row. Dc across the row, then after about 7 dc, chain 3 for the armhole and skip about 3 sts, dc across front of dress, then chain 3 and skip 3 sts then dc across last 7 dcs.

The next row was for weaving the ribbon through and making a bow. Dc in first dc, chain one, skip one dc then dc in the next dc * repeat this pattern so you have dc, ch 1 skip one dc across row. Later you weave the ribbon through this row starting at the middle front. Then tie ends in a bow.

The next rows are the skirt rows and are all the same. Chain 3 for starting chain, skip the ch 1 and then in the next dc, make 2 dc, chain 2, 2 dc (shell stitch), then skip next chain one and make the shell stitch in next dc. Do this across the row. Slip stitch to the top of the beginning ch 3. For all the other rows, chain 3, make a shell stitch in the ch 2 space of shell stitch below. Hopefully this is easy to understand but if you have any questions, fill free to add a comment and I'll try to help you.

The butterfly was an applique I found at Wal-mart in the sewing dept. They had a lot of cute appliques which I bought one set of each. Oh one more thing, you will either have to make a simple slip to go under the dress or crochet some bloomers. Ok, pattern coming soon. Lol

Toe-up Crochet Sock 

In with the New Year

Happy New Years! This is the time of the year when everyone makes their new year's resolutions. You know, Mine are quite simple: Finish all the crochet projects I started in 2004. ;) Here's the list: *crochet bears for family members-started in July when I was visiting my Dad, 2 baby blankets, a pair of socks (started 2 weeks ago-see picture) and the latest venture is crochet sleeves for a denim vest. The pattern came from Michaels in their Art & Crafts magazine from the Feb. 99 issue. I was going though my closet and ran across the issue this week-end and saw the pattern. I remembered the blue jean vest that was in my closet and the light bulb started flashing. The vest is lined and I always thought it would look better with sleeves, also I'd wear it more if it had sleeves. I can't share the pattern but I'll post a picture when I get more done. The sleeves use different types of yarn with lots of texture. Theirs is in different shades of blue but I am doing mine in burgandy and blues.

The socks are quicker to make. The pattern is called Toe-Up Crocheted Socks which I found at Grafton Fibers website. They are fun to make and leave a lot of room for creativity. The pair I am working on now are a late Christmas present for a friend at work. :} I am almost done with them though. One more sock and Carlee will have some new house socks. She picked out the yarn, it is Caron's Simply Soft. I love crocheting with that yarn. It lives up to its name.

I should add some other need-to-do's to the list like organize my closets or organize my craft room(gasp), however I think I will quit while I am feeling good about myself. Maybe after I compelete my crochet list...